Introduction to Intellectual Property provides a clear, effective introduction to patents, copyright, trademarks, and trade secrets. The text may be used by students and instructors in formal courses, as well as those applying intellectual property considerations to entrepreneurship, marketing, law, computer science, engineering, design, or other fields. The luminaries involved with this project represent the forefront of knowledge and experience, and the material offers considerable examples and scenarios, as well as exercises and references.

Provides a comprehensive and engaging introduction to copyright, patents, trademarks, and other forms of knowledge that are subject to global law and regulation.

A broad introduction to the changing roles of intellectual property within society Intellectual property is one of the most confusing--and widely used--dimensions of the law. By granting exclusive rights to publish, manufacture, copy, or distribute information and technology, IP laws shape our cultures, our industries, and our politics in countless ways, with consequences for everyone, including artists, inventors, entrepreneurs, and citizens at large. In this engaging, accessible study, Aram Sinnreich uncovers what's behind current debates and what the future holds for copyrights, patents, and trademarks.

How a flexible and creative approach to intellectual property can help an organization accomplish goals ranging from building market share to expanding an industry. Most managers leave intellectual property issues to the legal department, unaware that an organization's intellectual property can help accomplish a range of management goals, from accessing new markets to improving existing products to generating new revenue streams. In this book, intellectual property expert and Harvard Law School professor John Palfrey offers a short briefing on intellectual property strategy for corporate managers and nonprofit administrators. Palfrey argues for strategies that go beyond the traditional highly restrictive “sword and shield” approach, suggesting that flexibility and creativity are essential to a profitable long-term intellectual property strategy—especially in an era of changing attitudes about media. Intellectual property, writes Palfrey, should be considered a key strategic asset class. Almost every organization has an intellectual property portfolio of some value and therefore the need for an intellectual property strategy. A brand, for example, is an important form of intellectual property, as is any information managed and produced by an organization. Palfrey identifies the essential areas of intellectual property—patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret—and describes strategic approaches to each in a variety of organizational contexts, based on four basic steps. The most innovative organizations employ multiple intellectual property approaches, depending on the situation, asking hard, context-specific questions. By doing so, they achieve both short- and long-term benefits while positioning themselves for success in the global information economy.

This text offers an overview and analysis of current IP laws and their history. An introduction to copyright, patent, trademark and trade secrets is provided. Modern intellectual property is looked at in terms of how innovation and progress are linked to IP law, and how small changes in the laws have had significant consequences for society--provided by publisher.

This highly accessible and engaging introduction to IP law encourages readers to critically evaluate the ownership of intangible goods. The rigorous pedagogy, featuring many real-world cases, both historical and up-to-date, full colour images, discussion exercises, end-of-chapter questions and activities, allows readers to engage fully with the philosophical concepts foundational of the subject, while also enabling them to independently analyse key cases, texts and materials relevant to IP law in the contemporary world. This innovative textbook, written by one of the leading authorities on the subject, is the ideal route to a full understanding of copyright, patents, designs, trade marks, passing off, remedies and litigation for undergraduate and beginning graduate students in IP law.